The Best Bowl of Pasta Ever

I’ve been lucky enough to travel all over Italy. I’m talking forming-gnocci-with-the-back-of-a-fork-in-nonna’s-mountain-kitchen Italy. But the best bowl of pasta I’ve ever had was in Manhattan.

The Fusili with Baby Octopus and Bone Marrow that Chef Michael White serves at his Central Park South restaurant Marea is–can I say it?–genius. Yes, genius. Because the binder that brings the hand-rolled pasta, the San Marzano tomatoes, and the red wine-braised baby octopus together is none other than bone marrow. (Serious Eats details how it’s done in The Making of Michael White’s Fusilli at Marea.) The pasta is topped with mollica (Italian breadcrumbs) for a bit of textural contrast to that rich sauce. Perfezione. I mean it.

The first time I had it, I felt like streaking through Central Park screaming “It’s been done! The pinnacle of pasta has been reached!” Each visit to Marea since then (and there have been many), the fusilli has been consistently that good. (But no, the streaking has not happened.)

Bon Appetit readers feel just as passionately about the subject of pasta. We posted the question, “What’s the best bowl of pasta you ever ate?” on Facebook and Twitter. Out of the 100 responses we received, there were five that stuck out for their mouthwatering descriptions.

“Rustic Chic Pasta”Dianne Ketler says, “I’ve pretty much never met a bowl of pasta I didn’t like, but one of the most memorable was at Diner, in Brooklyn. It was a homemade buckwheat pasta with walnut pesto, chili, sliced garlic, mustard greens and Parmesan. It was so delicious that I keep a scrap of paper in my wallet with the ingredients that I jotted down that night, should I ever attempt to recreate it at home.”

“Carnivore’s Dream Pasta”Angie Karroum says, “Best pasta is at Osteria Mozza – tagliatelle with oxtail ragu!!! Pasta is thick and perfect for the light meaty sauce. The meat is slow cooked and tender. The perfect combo without being overwhelming.”

“Presidential Pasta”Lisa Mellen Ben-Shoshan says, “I had an amazing bowl of tiny ravioli with a petite pea filling at La Cigale Recamier in Paris; it was in a very light cream sauce… Michelle Obama had eaten there the week prior; not sure if she had this dish!”

“‘What He’s Having’ Pasta”Katie Zabrowski says, “A bit off the beaten path in Bologna is a small, inconspicuous place called Trattoria Danio. With about 8 to 10 small tables, one of which is reserved for Danio himself, the restaurant is obviously more known for its fresh pastas than its visual extravagance. As I usually like to take an attitude of “I’ll have what you’re having,” I took Danio’s suggestion to try the night’s special dish – tortelloni zucca, or pumpkin tortelloni. The pumpkin stuffing, with sweet and subtle notes of nutmeg, paired so perfectly with the simple sage-butter sauce, that I can never dream of divorcing the two ever again. It tasted a little bit like fall and a lot like love. And though Lambrusco gets a bad wrap due to a slew of cheesy marketing campaigns in the 80s, Danio suggested it was the only thing to pair with our meals that night. I believed him, relishing in the whole meal, glad to end the night with the house tiramisu and a leisurely walk home with purple, wine-soaked lips. I still dream of it.”